Saturdays In The Fall Mean College Football, Tailgating And Private Jets

When folks think about where the wealthy congregate, the perception might be places such as museum openings, the ballet, Art Basel Miami or polo tournaments, however, college football also attracts a sizable slice of the Super Rich.

At South Bend International Airport, the closest field to the University of Notre Dame, an extended 54,000-square-foot ramp opened last week to help accommodate the over 250 private jets expected for the home opener tomorrow against University of Nevada.

Austin, TX and South Bend, IN, and dozens of other college football towns see several hundred private jets arrive for each home college football game during the Fall. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The expansion is part of a second FBO (private jet terminal) at the airport, and according to a report in South Bend Tribune, officials believe will help drive more businesses to have locations in the area.

Last year, if you watched College Game Day on ESPN, you might have noticed alongside Home Depot, one of the sponsors was Wheels UP, a private aviation provider. Notre Dame is not alone, on Saturdays in the Fall. In Baton Rouge, Austin, Athens, Tallahassee, Norman, Lincoln and other places, hundreds of private jets arrive for games. So perhaps it’s not surprising Wheels UP is launching “Same Day Game Day” shuttles offering its members the ability to purchase seats on flights on its fleet of King Air 350i.

The schedule published starts today with a New York to Syracuse roundtrip, where the Orangemen are hosting Louisville. Wheels UP is planning the following, and says more shuttles will be added throughout the season.

Georgia vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta to Oxford) 9/24

Wisconsin vs. Michigan (Teterboro to Ann Arbor) 10/1

Tennessee vs. Georgia (Nashville to Athens) 10/1

Clemson vs. Florida St. (Atlanta to Tallahassee) 10/29

Yale vs. Harvard (Teterboro to Boston) 11/19

Michigan vs. Ohio State (Teterboro to Columbus) 11/26

Florida vs. Florida State (Tampa to Tallahassee) 11/26

Army vs. Navy (Teterboro to Baltimore) 12/10

Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter said in a press release, “Many of our members are passionate about college football, and maximizing the cost-efficiency of the King Air 350i is a way that we can bring them to the game with like-minded members and fans. We’re leveraging the sharing economy to bring people together.”

Dichter noted Wheels Up members can create their own shared flights to see their favorite team play using its app. There was no word on whether you can restrict takers to fans of your team.